Lucky’s Market says Toledo ‘priority’ in search for new site

Lucky’s Market, a national chain of grocery stores, is considering opening a store in Toledo, Toledo Free Press has learned.

The Erie Street Market in Downtown Toledo is one location the Boulder, Colo.-based chain has visited.

“As Lucky’s Market expands across the mid-west, we are looking at many different locations. The city of Toledo, OH is a priority on our radar but we are still considering this specific site,” Lucky’s Market Marketing Project Manager Ally Conis wrote in an email to Toledo Free Press.

Representatives of the company visited Toledo last month and toured Erie Street Market with members of the Toledo Warehouse District Association and members of the City of Toledo’s economic and business development team.

“They loved it. Loved it,” Warehouse District Association member Richard Rideout said, who said the chain is also considering a few other sites in Toledo.

City of Toledo Public Information Officer Lisa Ward said the city has had “initial conversations” with Lucky’s Market.

“It’s something that’s a work in progress. We’re not in active conversation, but we’d love to explore it with them because we think it would be a good fit,” Ward said. “One of the key things missing from Downtown is a grocery store.”

“The site has a longstanding history and is poised for redevelopment success. Reconstruction of I-75′s downtown exits will place even more emphasis on the market site,” the letter states. “The past decade has seen a transformation of Downtown Toledo, underscored by a rapidly increasing residential population and businesses moving in to support those citizens. … I hope to welcome you and members of the Lucky’s Market team to Toledo again to discuss a mutually beneficial partnership.”

The Warehouse District Association has been working for at least four years to identify a grocery store interested in coming to Downtown Toledo, Rideout said. Lucky’s Market was brought to their attention last fall by Paul Syring, the city’s deputy mayor of external affairs and economic development under former Mayor Mike Bell, he said.